On the road again...

Well, so much for my time at home... sigh...

Back on the road and I get a call half way to my destination from my bank...

Not good...

Even worse, it appears there are fraudulent charges on my credit card!!! Just @$&(* lovely...

So now my card is cancelled and I'm waiting on a replacement from the bank to be FEDEX'ed to my hotel... Hmmm, I've got a buck forty, guess I'm eating cheep tonight...

Folks, whether you travel a lot or not, I'd STRONGLY recommend you have your credit cards and bank cards put on fraud alert/watch! This is the second time in two years this has happened to me, once overseas and once here in the States. Is it a PITA when you want to make a large purchase? Yes... Is it worth it if your card gets frauded? Hell YES!!!

I will not be charged for any of the false charges :-) OBTW, all of them were under $50 dollars, two of the three were Internet charges, and one was a bar in Nevada! Kinda hard to do, since I'm on the East Coast...

A couple of pics to brighten up the day/night/whateverthehelltimeitis...

Art Deco Claymore- An up close and personal look at the damage caused by a Claymore mine! Yep, you ALWAYS want to make sure "Front Faces Enemy". Those 100 steel balls can do a "bit" of damage!!!

If you can read this- Friend of mine had a problem with 4 wheelers cutting his fences and riding on his pasture land illegally last year... What is not shown in the photo is the steel plate target lying on the ground :-) It apparently works, since he hasn't had any more problems with 4 wheelers or snowmobiles...

Now back to your regular programming... Blogging will probably be light the rest of the week...

Yep, they're ALL nuts...

Since I was actually "home" this weekend, I took Ambulance Driver up on his invite to drive up to Baltimore and meet he and a few more folks at the EMS get together up there. Of course when I get there, I get introduced as the old fossil to another old fossil... sigh... Lou runs the EMS Museum and publishes books for EMS training and others, in addition to being one of the original medics at Baltimore Shock Trauma. We get to talking and find out we know people in common from 30 years ago! I finally got to meet Eipjunky, TOTWTYTR, and Medic 3 who were also there. Mad Dog had set up a meet at the Nest (across the street from the Conference Center) so we decamped to there and the beer and stories began...

And yes, medic humor is almost as bad as military humor, with more specifics... which I will NOT go into since my kids occasionally read this blog... Others showed up including Sam from On the Clock, and some whom I didn't get a handle/blog/name for, but all were in the EMT/Paramedic field.

And like most blog meets, there were three, four, maybe five simultaneous conversations going on, running the gamut from lines from poems, to movies, to guns, to shooting, to getting shot, to places, to bar fights, to the proverbial runs from hell, to beer, food, and damn near everything in between! In other words a GOOD time!

Once again I am amazed at the quality of folks who are the other thin blue line that keep our asses alive and get us to the hospital in emergencies! While they may grouse, bitch and moan, and work for peanuts; they are also putting their respective asses on the line for us every day, on every call 24/7/365. For that I thank you!!!

Now some of y'alls OTHER interests... well... :-) Pink dresses???

They're at it again...

Well, the Hildabeast struck again...

"Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians. So, yes, I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility."…

…The United States needs to stop the flow of guns, body armor and night-vision goggles to the cartels, Clinton said.

"These criminals are outgunning the law enforcement officials," she said.

"When you go into a gunfight or are trying to round up these bad guys and they have military-style equipment that is much better than yours, you start out at a disadvantage. Since we know the vast majority of that comes from our country, we are going to help stop it from getting there in the first place." Source: CNN

Although she KNOWS this is not true, she's putting that crap out there to support the AWB we all know the Lightbringer and Holder are going to try to push through... And OBTW, At a meeting of the Senate Homeland Security Committee yesterday, committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he requested an additional $380 million in funds for enhanced border protection. But Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she thought that the agency’s existing funds would cover the costs of the administration’s increased presence in the border region. “These actions so far are designed to be budget-neutral,” she said. “What I have done is identify other activities that are less urgent ... to be able to move these resources where I think they are needed most.”

Another little digression, we were talking at lunch yesterday about where the country is heading, and an interesting point was brought up- Argentina!

Think about it- The Perons were are similar to the Obamas- Political messiahs, revolutionaries for "change", and they are the leaders of the pack that are plundering this country to pay back their supporters (unions), giving their supporters more and more power (can we say card check?) and penalizing their opponents. In the mean time, Eva (Michelle) was/is the darling of the media, while being vindictive, secretive and hiding her true feelings. Meanwhile, they spent Argentina into the poor house, which the STILL have not really recovered from.

Just remember, "Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it"

High Jumper...

This is from GW in 2003, it shows the inherent danger of working on a flight deck in the BEST of times... Day, VFR, CQs in a workup phase off Norfolk. What you will see is the PLAT video of an F-18 landing and catching the #3 wire (qualifies as a good landing), however as the cable runs out, you will see a brown cloud to the left of the picture. That is the cable parting under load.

You will then see the F-18 go off the bow (pointy end), the canopy blow and the pilot eject (that's the little splash of flame that goes up). Note the white tow bar on the left side of the frame that seems to move by itself. It was struck by the cable end and moves significantly even though it is attached to the nosewheel of the aircraft.

In the replay, you will see one yellow shirt (the hook man) jump twice, he is jumping the pieces of the cable as it snaps back. The other two people and three more that are not captured in the video were injured and later medically evacuated from the GW, but all survived.

This is why the flight deck is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world to work. You HAVE to keep your head on a swivel, and be alert ALL of the time. Since there is a high noise level, you are basically on your own for your survival... You can imagine what potentially could have happened if this had been at night.

Please say a prayer for all our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen who are deployed world wide to keep us safe.

What to do... What to do...

Woke up at 0 dark 30 as usual, tried to get back to sleep, but got woke up again by the maids at 0730 (on a SATURDAY no less)...

Quick SSS, and stumble down to breakfast- Sunny California my ass, it's in the 50's overcast and windy...

Lemme see, golf? Nope- too cold and windy, as bad as I play fuggedaboutit!

Go sailing? Nope- no boat, see above on weather, plus no jacket...

Hmmm, what's in the paper? Ohhh Shiny!!! Gun SHOW :-) Yep, that'll work!

Take my happy ass down and off I go up to Del Mar- Uh oh... 1 mile backup just to get off at the exit, now ALL these people can't possible be going to the gun show CAN THEY???

/grumble/ 30 minutes to literally go two miles to the gun show parking lot, AND get charged $9 for parking!!! Yep, welcome to Kalifornia!!!

Now go jump in line, hurry up and wait; but I 'know' how to do this :-) Some interesting conversations about guns, liberty and ammunition as we move slowly to the entrance, a few folks bringing things to sell, but no where near what I'm used to seeing at Tulsa... NRA at the front, join the NRA get a free entry, they're doing pretty good too!

Woof... crowded at the front door! Oh, no wonder, first set of tables in the door is ammo seller, and they are packed at least five deep all the way around the tables! Probably 5-600 tables total, whole bunch of jewelry/junk/Shamwow stuff...

Definitely Kalifornia prices!!! Old Colts SAA's $3-5000, a table full of 03A3, M-1, and M-1 carbines, $1700-$7000, bunch of knife sellers, a couple of safe sellers (they are busy!), two tables of MREs (Why???), cheapo flashlights, more cheapo knives, magazines, oddball ammo, another couple of tables of ammo, $400 for 500 rounds XM193 .223; lots of personal defense pistol ammo at HIGH prices, with box limits... sigh...

Obligatory old uniform sellers, Chinese gun cases, cheapo holsters, empty ammo boxes, 3 for $12, Jerky... yechhh! NASTY jerky... phuti...

BOOKS! Lots of books :-)

Damn, high priced books too!!! First edition Elmer Keith and Jeff Cooper over $130 each, lots of how to gunsmithing, reloading, bits/pieces/parts tables.

Oh, a table selling AR-15s (don't know how they are doing that); basic Rock River that was $950 last November is now $1895! Sigh...

Oh yeah, and LOTS of people! Young, old, male, female, at least a couple of three generation groups, which are nice to see; single women shopping for pistols too!

And everybody is very polite too! I see this at every gun show, and I'm impressed at how polite folks can be... Of course, an armed society is a polite society :-)

Spent a few minutes talking to the Calguns.net folks, good guys working hard for gun rights in an uphill battle out here... Drop by and give them some support if you have time!

What I didn't see- Tables with long guns, or multiple tables of semi-autos from dealers... Interesting...

Okay, the dogs are barking, nothing that I can't live without, I'm outta here...

Now back to the regularly scheduled "stuff"...

Now Hear This...

Liberty Call - Liberty Call. Liberty Commences at 16:00 for Sections 2 & 3- One of the best sounds to hear over the 1MC :-)

Here are a couple of our Grey Ships coming back in after a week at sea! One "smallboy" a DDG and one Oiler coming back to 32nd Street in San Diego!

Also, here are a couple of lazy ducks... after all this IS Kalifornia! Note- They are sitting on the rope across the pool at the hotel, floating a little and just lazing about!

For those that have not seen it, go over to Conservative Scalawag and view the Lightbringer's address to the Iranians... After you watch it, come back and tell me what is missing from the background. I 'think' you will be as pissed as I am!!!

And there is a new entry in the blog sphere courtesy of Lawdog and Farm Girl that is worth a look and a read... TOTUS!

Go Enjoy! Y'all have a good weekend ya hear! :-) I'm going to curl up in the hotel with a book and a beer...

Neat piece of history...

A friend of mine haunts yard sales, estate sales and auto shows to find old automotive memorabilia. Every once in a while, he gets a real find...

In this case, a post card from a Ford dealer to a customer in 1929! You may wonder why I'm posting it, well a couple of reasons, for one it's a neat piece of history, for another, the prices!!! Oh yeah, and it cost a whole one cent to send :-)

And here is the back of the card- Note the cars being discussed! I checked and they are no longer in business, but if they were, I'd find a Model T, take it in and ask for THOSE prices... :-)

Where does it end???

We fought back and won this round, but I'm afraid of what ELSE is coming... It is becoming clear the Lightbringer's administration is coming after Veterans. Hellva note considering what veterans have given to keep this country free and safe!!!

WASHINGTON (March 18, 2009) - The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization applauded President Obama for dropping his plan to bill private insurance companies for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries.

"We are glad that President Obama listened to the strong objections raised by The American Legion and veterans everywhere about this unfair plan," said National Commander David K Rehbein of The American Legion. "We thank the administration for its proposed increase in the VA budget and we are always available to assist by providing guidance to ensure a veterans health care system that is worthy of the heroes that use it."

Following a meeting this afternoon with The American Legion and other veterans service organizations, the White House announced that it will no longer considering billing insurance companies or veterans for their service-connected disabilities.

"Although we disagreed with the proposal, additional revenue streams are needed by VA," Rehbein said. "I strongly encourage Congress and the administration to allow VA to begin billing Medicare for the treatment of Medicare-eligible nonservice-connected veterans. They paid into Medicare for their entire working careers and should be able to use it in the medical system that was built specifically for them."

With a current membership of 2.6 million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and the mentoring of youth. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

MOAA and all the other military organizations (VFW, FRA, NCOA) also chimed in on this...

This proposal and others causing the military and veterans to pay additional medical fees (up to $570M/yr) was one of the big "savings" the administration was counting on...

It's not bad enough that we really don't get a lot in retired pay, after not having made a whole lot of money as career military personnel, but this bunch of clowns wants to take us to the woodshed yet again... sigh...

Pelosi is at it again! Now she's pandering to the illegal aliens by saying enforcing immigration laws against them is Un-American! At a meeting with illegal aliens in the audience, and referring to work site enforcement actions by ICE agents, Pelosi said, "We have to have a change in policy and practice and again ... I can't say enough, the raids must end. The raids must end.

"You are special people. You're here on a Saturday night to take responsibility for our country's future. That makes you very, very patriotic."

SAY WHAT???

"I was embarrassed by what she said," said Rick Oltman, with Californians for Population Stabilization, an anti-illegal immigrant group. "Exhorting illegal aliens for taking responsibility for our country's future.... In fact, sitting there in the audience.... I really resented that comment."

"I think it was pandering to the crowd but also insulting to American citizens who consider themselves to be patriotic, who obey the rule of law," said Oltman, who shot a video of the rally.

WTFO? Where does this bitch get off???

And one more... Congresscritter Dodds signed out the amendment to the CRAP bill that ALLOWED the AIG bonus to be paid, and Geithner was the architect in the meetings last year to set up the bailout of AIG, where these bonus were discussed and now he claims he only heard of them LAST WEEK??? And the Lightbringer is on TV saying nobody in his adminstration was responsible???

Yo Barry- Geithner IS YOUR TREASURY SECRETARY! He IS responsible...

I wish somebody would REALLY investigate those sanctimonious sumbitches Frank and Dodds and the rest of the banking committees, because I'll bet $$ to donuts they knew about the whole mess and figured they could get away with it...

Good and bad...

The Good- At least the market has stopped its free fall! For today at least... sigh... My 401K "might" now be a 102K....

It appears a few people out in fly over country are being a little more proactive about their displeasure with the new president...

The bad- Well, I guess one would have to say this really qualifies as truth in advertising...

On a more prosaic note- The National Park Service (NPS) has announced its intention to ban traditional ammunition containing lead in all its parks. The move will push hunters to use more costly bullets made of tungsten, copper, and steel. The restrictions, set to take effect by the end of 2010, were announced without regard to science and without soliciting feedback from sportsman's groups.

So much for science... I guess that only applies for stem cells...

A Shipboard Life, part 3...

Quality of Life...

1. Invite 200 to 1000 of your 'not so closest' friends to come over. Board up all the windows and doors to your house for six months. After 6 months take down the boards. But, since you're on duty, wave at your family through the front window of your home. You and one third of the 'friends' can't leave until the next day.

2. Shower, eat, and sleep with the above mentioned friends never more than an arm's length away. Instruct 10% of the 'friends' NOT to shower on a regular basis and an additional 10% NOT to change clothes more than once a month.

3. Cook all your food blindfolded, groping for any spice and seasoning you can reach. Fry everything and serve cold. Note: You must not gain weight on this diet while locked in the house for six months or you will be single out for the 'fat boy' program.

4. Have your neighbor collect all your mail for a month. Instruct them to lose every fifth item and to send every other week's mail randomly to Japan or Italy.

5. Spend $20,000 on a satellite system for your TV, but only watch CNN and the Weather Channel.

6. Every two weeks have your fifth grade son cut your hair with dull hedge clippers. Have him say each time, "It's a new style. I'm practicing until it comes out right."

7. Sew back pockets to the front of your pants.

8. Work at McDonalds for four years. Do the same routine boring job day in and out. Do NOT get promoted.

9. Needle gun (compressed air powered impact device for paint chipping) the aluminum siding on your house after your neighbors have gone to bed.

10. Instruct your doctor to only dispense "aspirin" (APC - all purpose capsule) to you no matter what the ailment or complaint.

11. Gather all the neighborhood washing and mix the clothing in a pile. Rip off every other button, pour bleach directly on the pile, stuff the washing machine to maximum capacity, DO NOT separate by colors. Partially dry items and redistribute the "clean" items in a random fashion.

12. On the hottest, most humid day of the year, close all the doors and windows in your house, remove all fans for preventive maintenance and disassemble the air conditioner. On the coldest day of the year disable your heating system for maintenance. All family members must wear sweaters, heavy coats and gloves indoors to keep ice from forming on body parts. If going outdoors for any occasion everyone must appear uniform. If one person doesn't have a coat and gloves, all must go without.

13. Stand in line for an hour to buy a candy bar and soda, only to find out the store is out of sodas and the candy bar is melted from heat.

14. Cut the ends out of two juice cans, place them over your ears to distort the sound while watching your TV.

15. Do your laundry using only the rinse cycle with paint thinner for detergent. Dry for 10 minutes and randomly redistribute.

16. Serve "Stuffed Cabbage Rolls" for dinner and the next evening strip off the cabbage leaves and serve the same thing, calling it "Beef Porcupines."

17. Simulate being in drydock by leaving a 55 gallon drum of fish and crab parts under your bedroom window for three weeks. Have the kids needle gun (compressed air powered impact device for paint chipping) your exterior bedroom wall from 6 am to 6 pm and at random times throughout the night.

18. Have total strangers decide what 10 movies you can watch for the next month and show only these movies.

19. The day before the quarterly Physical Readiness Test (PRT) get Yellow Fever and Typhoid shots. Hold a safety stand down immediately following PRT on the importance of hygiene, physical conditioning, and proper diet and nutrition. After the safety stand down, hold a picnic featuring hot dogs and hamburgers (rollers and sliders) plus lots of greasy fries.

A Shipboard Life, part 2...

I also sent this to some old Navy friends, and got this back this morning!

This really brought back some memories. Take it from a former resident of U.S.S. Mindoro, U.S.S. Siboney, U.S.S. Antietam, U.S.S. Tarawa, U.S.S. Valley Forge, & U.S.S. Forrestal. Note- MOST of those memories I've been trying to forget for 30 years...

Shipboard Evolutions-

1. Sit in your car and let it run for four hours before going anywhere. This is to ensure your engine is properly "lit off."

2. Before leaving or arriving at any location require your family to stand on the hood of the car for the preceding hour. [Special Sea Detail]

3. Empty all the garbage cans in your house and sweep the driveway three times a day even if they don't require it. [Sweepers]

4. Stand in the sun for an hour without moving a muscle while someone reads the complete Old Testament book of Numbers to you. [Change of Command, Retirement, etc.]

5. While driving in foggy weather, instruct your children to turn around and look out back window and make reports on anything they see. [Low Visibility Watch].

6. Have you wife set off the smoke alarm. Grab a pair of headphones (without walkman) and mic (without cord), run into the kitchen and stand by the stove. To no one in particular say "Stove manned and ready". Stand there for four hours doing nothing. DO NOT sit down. After four hours say "Stove secured", once again to no one in particular. Return to your regular business.

7. String lines (ropes) from your roof to your neighbor's roof at 0500 (5am) have all family members assemble on the roof wearing lifejackets and hard hats. Stand around until 0800 (8am). Send everyone inside telling them it will be 2 hours until they will be needed and they should get breakfast. Wait until they get the first fork of food in their mouth and call them back to the roof. Transfer the contents of your neighbor's garage to your garage using the lines strung from roof to roof. Repeat every 3 days changing the times to randomly interrupt every meal. [Underway Replenishment at Sea - Unrep]

8. Assemble the family at the local high school football field at 0600 (6am) every day. Have the kids line up side by side to the full width of the field. Tell them you have hidden a gold nugget on the field and if they find it they won't have to line up at the football field for one day. [Hint: It is very small.] Also inform them that mom is behind them and that she likes to collect things. Have the kids walk slowly toward the other side of the field, heads down, no talking, picking up every piece of chewed gum, lint, or pebble and hand it to mom to put in her handbag. Remind the children that there is a golden nugget so they will be excited and look more intensely. The purpose of the hunt is to keep the lawn mower from sucking something into the blades and spitting it out the other side. [FOD Walk Down]

Ed. note- And this is actually done prior to every launch off the boat. There is actually a good reason, as a jet will suck up just about anything anywhere near the intake, including stray nuts, bolts, and people... Been there, seen it happen... :-(

FODing an engine means a complete tear down, many manhours, and possibly no repair depending on the damage done.

9. Twice a week at 0230 have your neighbor sneak into your house with a bell and a bullhorn Instruct him to get as close to you as possible without waking you then ring the bell and scream through the bullhorn "Fire! Fire! Fire! There is a Class Alpha Fire in the Galley!" As soon as you peel yourself off the overhead (ceiling) get half dressed and run for the door, have him yell, "This is a drill!" [Fire Drill]

10. Install a 10 inch composite loop fire main system in your house. Designate a closet in your house as a repair locker, equip it with firefighting gear. Hold fire, smoke, and flooding drills every day.11. Enlist a team of paintball players to run through your dining room shouting "Security Alert!" At this, you should drop to the floor (deck). Best done during mealtime.

12. Stand in line at the local mini-mart for a Powerball Lottery ticket when the jackpot is up around $100 million (simulates either the chow line, mail call, or the ships store on payday on an aircraft carrier).

13. Button up your shirt to the neck; pull your socks up over your pant legs; put on a scuba mask and breath into a paper bag while trying to read your least favorite book. Do this for an unknown length of time. (General Quarters).

14. (Submarine Simulation) Install air lines throughout your home with connections every eight feet. Store surplus gas masks (one for each member of the family) under the kitchen table. During your favorite dinner, announce with megaphone "toxic gas in the forward compartment, all hands don EAB's" (Emergency Air Breathing apparatus). Don the rubber mask and plug into air system. Wait two hours or until dinner is cold and thoroughly congealed. Announce "Secure toxic gas in the forward compartment. Drill is secured." Do not sit down to eat. Shovel food into your mouth while en-route to the garbage pail. Scrape remaining food from plate into garbage and run upstairs and sit in a closet for six hours. Repeat.

15. (Carrier Operations) Have your neighbor stand across the street on the darkest of nights. Give him a flashlight with a cone on the end so that he can signal you when the coast is clear of oncoming cars. When you're halfway across, have him change the signal as a car is ten feet from you and blaring its horn. Break into a sprint and trip over the curb as you try to find the darkest set of shadows to hide in.

16. (Carrier Operations) Assemble your neighbors on Super Bowl Sunday in the street with push brooms. Turn on all the garden hoses available and use extra strength dish detergent to wash the street. When half done turn on the fire hydrants to the part you haven't washed drenching everyone. (Flight Deck Scrub Ex). This is best done when it is either 100+ degrees, or below freezing to get the full impact...

A Shipboard Life...

In honor of the idjit I was sitting next to on the airplane today who though shipboard life was, "Like cool, man; I guess there isn't much to do when you're not fighting and stuff, right?" AARRGGGHHHH!!!! whereinhelldothesepeoplecomefrom??? And why in hell do I get stuck next to them???


Do-it-Yourself Kit

WHO CAN USE THIS KIT?
~Navy fans who watched the movie "TOP GUN" twice or any one episode of "JAG."
~Former sea service personnel suffering from "brain fade syndrome."
~Recruits with illusions of liberty among the natives in Bora Bora.
~Sailors and Marines reporting to their first sea duty.
~Naive youth who has talked to a friendly smiling recruiter in the past week.

EXPERIENCE REAL SHIPBOARD LIFE.~Follow these easy instructions with the aid of your family and friends to recreate the untold joys of life aboard ship.

~Kit easily adapts to Coast Guard Cutters with the addition of white paint and racing stripes.

~Break into a chorus of "Anchors Aweigh" or hum a few lines of "Semper Paratus" and enter the real world of life at sea.

Module 1 : Living Aboard Ship
1. Buy a dumpster, chip the paint off down to bare metal, paint it gray, and live in it for six months. {Coast Guard simulations use white paint.}

2. Run all the piping and the wires inside your house on the outside of the walls.

3. Repaint your entire house once a month.

4. Place metal barriers on the lower 18" of every door in your house and add eight handles to every door..

5. Pump ten inches of nasty half sewage water into your basement. Pump it out, clean up the mess and paint everything in the basement gray. Repeat frequently for added realism.

6. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday turn your water temperature up to 200 degrees, on Tuesday and Thursday set the temperature at 10 degrees. On Saturday and Sunday inform your family that they used too much water during the week and as a result all showering is secured.

7. Stack all beds on top of one another in the closet. Raise your bed to within six inches of the ceiling. Stow all your clothing and possessions in a 36" x 18" x 12" locker. If anyone is sick and throwing up put them in the top bunk.

8. Give the keys to your house to your next door neighbor. Instruct him enter your bedroom every morning at 0530 (5:30 am), and blow a whistle loud enough for Helen Keller to hear. Instruct the neighbor to shout in a amplified megaphone six inches from your ear, "Reveille, reveille, all hands heave out and trice up. The smoking lamp is lit in all authorized spaces." "Now give the ship a clean sweep down fore and aft and empty all sh*t cans over the fantail"!

Thanks Ev :-)

9. Have your mother-in-law write down everything she is going to do for the following day. With your family stand in the back yard at 0600 (6 am) while your mother-in-law reads her "Plan of the Day" (POD) to you. Repeat this everyday expect Sunday, unless you are simulating "at sea" in which case you may opt to do it seven days a week.

10. Eat the raunchiest Mexican food you can find for three days straight, then lock the bathroom door for 12 hours. Hang a sign on the door that reads, "Secured - Contact OA Div at X-3053."

11. When you leave your house make sure to take the phone off the hook so it will be busy all day.

12. Observe the ship board multi telephone line rule. One line is always reserved for the use of your father-in-law, one line reserved for your mother-in-law, and the third line is reserved for official business. If you want to make a personal call, walk two blocks to a convenience store and wait in line at the pay phone.

13. Install a bell on the front porch. Whenever your father-in-law comes over ring the bell 4 times and announce his arrival/departure over a megaphone.

14. Every time you leave or enter the house salute the porch light and ask your dog for permission to leave or enter the dwelling.

15. ( Aircraft Carrier Simulation) At random intervals from 1000 to 2200 (10 A.M. to 10 P.M.), have a biker gang with sledgehammers pound on your roof to simulate the launching and recovery of aircraft. At night, after the family has gone to sleep, have the bikers drag chains and heavy equipment across the roof to simulate the 're-spotting' of the aircraft for the next morning's flight schedule.

16. Install flashlights (battle lanterns) at the precise height at which to bang your head in the dark. Point the flashlight and important items (such as the sofa, all doorways, stove, etc). Occasionally turn the electric power off at the mains and run around the house turning on all the flashlights.

17. Use an air-raid siren for an alarm clock.

18. Remove all wrist watches from the family. Use the dinner bell as a systematic time indicator. Ring it madly when every body is their hungriest and announce the "Chow-line is not open for an hour." Do not drool when you hear bells.

19. ( Aircraft Carrier Simulation) Have house mover relocate your home ten feet under Runway 19 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport for 6 months.

20. Divide bathroom shower with three partitions. Remove shower nozzle and replace with kitchen sink dish sprayer hooked to the cold water line only. The "extra" two showers now represent actual percentage of operable showers.

21. Remove bathroom sink, mirror, and all shelves. Replace with water fountain for shaving and hygiene use.

22. Do Laundry using only the rinse cycle with paint thinner for detergent. Dry for 10 minutes and randomly redistribute.

23. Have an electrician certify as 'safe' and hang a tag on every electrical appliance you own, no matter if the appliance is brand new or if its own manufacturer claims it is up to safety standards.

24. Buy a two year calendar. Carefully mark your EAOS (End of Active Obligated Service) day two years out, and number the days back to the present date for a long count down. Mark each day off for two years, dreaming of the "get out day." Then march down to personnel and ship over (sign for additional service). [Radioman]

25. Place fire extinguishers on the bulkheads (walls) of your home at elbow level next to the door openings to conveniently rip your shirt.

26. Stand in your living room with all the lights turned out, except for one red light by which you read a small print book.

And for those old sailors out there, I have a couple of more to follow...

Shovel ready...

By now you no doubt have heard the government discussion about "shovel ready" projects to stimulate the economy? If you're like me, you have no idea what that means other than it's going to cost me more tax dollars?

Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Ramirez, Investor's Business Daily, offers his version here. He nails it.

On another negative note- The Lightbringer signed the $410B 9000 earmark budget bill yesterday in private, no photo's (that we'll ever see), no comments other than it's all Bush's fault... One interesting "statement" made was that the budget bull, er... bill was required to keep the government functioning. That is an outright LIE!!!

The government has been running on continuing resolutions since Oct. so there was no real rush...

Sippican Cottage...

I lifted this from Drjim at Every Blade of Grass-

Sippican Cottage: My Father Asks For Nothing

Wow....just wow.

Pardon me while I tear up.
My father was a Navy SeaBee in the South Pacific during WWII. He quite possibly helped build the airstrip where this man's father took off and landed. My Dad never wanted to talk about it, either, except for an occasional comment he made while we watched "Victory At Sea" on Sunday afternoons.
Every time I read a story or post like this, the final line from "The Bridges At Toko-Ri" comes back to me.

"Where do we find such men?"

They were a special generation... Sadly, they are dying at a rate of 2600/month. Soon they will all be gone, and with them the foundation of our greatest generation.

DopeyChangey- Very depressing videos...

I just got this from a friend, and I'm sure as hell depressed...

Go here and watch on YouTube, as I can't upload to the blog tonight. It's Glenn Beck with a graphic explanation of the amount of money being printed to cover the bailout(s) and budget expansion.

Regardless of your party affiliation, you cannot watch this and NOT be depressed/worried about inflation and devaluation of the dollar...

And go to Evil Conservative Radio to watch the video of Rangel telling a reporter to mind his own God Damn business when questioned about his tax "problems". I'm at the point I almost believe all the congresscritters believe they are above the law!!!

If this isn't a commercial for term limits, I don't know what is...

I'm on the road again, attending a conference on the Left Coast. This afternoon was check-in for the conference, and contrary to previous years, the majority of the conversations this evening were about the budget, the bailout, and how bad things will probably get. Since most of us are working in the R&D arena, either in or out of the government, there is a real fear there will be no money pumped into R&D for new technologies, based on threats from Frank and other congresscritters who want to pull money from the Military and move it into social programs...

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but many of the current technologies we all enjoy every day came out of military research- Among others, the Internet, smart wheelchairs, bluetooth technology, CGI for movies, cell phone technology, and quite a few others...

What happens when we no longer have that R&D being done???

Kicking the soapbox back in the corner... now back to the regularly scheduled crap...

HopeyChangey my ass...

AARRGGGHHHH!!! Orszag went on Face the Nation and at least one other talk show and spewed this garbage this morning...

When it comes to dealing with all those pet projects in the big spending bill before Congress, President Barack Obama's budget chief says wait until next year.

White House budget director Peter Orszag says the Obama administration isn't happy with the billions of dollars aimed at lawmakers' pet projects -- also known as earmarks. Obama had campaigned on changing the way such money is appropriated by Congress.

Yet Orszag says Obama doesn't want to revisit the spending bill Congress put together before he was elected and wants to move on. Next year, according to Orszag, when Obama is fully involved in the next budget from the start, earmarks will be handled differently.

Is anybody else getting as frustrated with this as I am??? The Lightbringer wants to let all these earmarks through, blame it on Bush, and then, since THEY ARE ALREADY IN EFFECT, continue to fund them in the out years...

On the arms front- A little truth in advertising about the Mexican arms issues- If anybody really got a good look at the pictures of those so called American weapons exported to Mexico, the weapons are full up M-16's, full auto AKs, pineapple grenades (which the US hasn't issued since the 60's, RPG's and at least one 60mm mortar! Last time I looked, ALL of those are illegal in the US unless you have a Class III license...

The reality is most of the weapons the drug gangs are getting/using are coming from Mexican Army deserters, the cartels in Columbia, and Nicaragua. Of course, the Lightbringer's folks and Holder AREN'T telling the public that...

It may be time for a divorce...

I got this today, and it pretty much says it all...

Dear, American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them). We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N.. but we will no longer be paying the bill. We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,

A WASP Conservative

(Better known to the Left as one of those bitter working-class people who are clinging to their guns and religion in this time of need.)

Medvedev slaps down Lightbringer...

The Lightbringer got slapped down by Medvedev today, after the letter being leaked about the proposed deal to stop building the missle defense network (leaving the Poles et al hung out to dry), if they would get Iran to back off.

Yoo hoo- Hey Washington, this is not backyard deals, you're now playing in the REAL WORLD...

Medvedev/Putin are going to eat the new administration for breakfast...

Random Road stuff...

Yet AGAIN I'm sitting in a hotel room on the road... sigh...

Anyhoo- I reported in Dec on the amount of NICS checks for Nov being at an all time high. Well here's an update!

Nov 08- 1,529,635
Dec 08- 1,523,426
Jan 09- 1,213,885

If this is any indicator, guns sales are the ONE area of the economy that is NOT in trouble... :-)

On other fronts, ANOTHER democrat didn't pay is taxes, but he's going into the cabinet anyway- Kirk, former Mayor of Dallas... I'm at the point I just cannot believe this crap any more...

And Citibank has finally decided to help those behind on their mortgages- but only for 3 months and ONLY if the people bring in a sheet showing they are getting unemployment... sigh... Big Whoop... And now AIG is want more billions or they will fold-

Fine! Let the idjits fold!!! Then the bottom will fall out, the loans will go bad, and we can start back up. If they keep propping these idjits up, who knows how many BILLIONS will go down that rat hole?

A side note- I was talking to a friend in Texas today, the small local banks seem to be NOT having a problem, because they have not been forced to give subprime loans... They actually made people qualify! Gee what a novel concept!

Another POS idea coming out, is the whole enforced carbon reduction thing... India and China WILL NOT PLAY! All that will do is drive US goods prices even higher, and oh by the way, the Lightbringer's minions have now decided we don't pay enough for electricity! They are going to force prices up so that Solar, et al become the preferred alternatives!!! WTFO?

On a positive note- GUN NUTS tonight! 9pm EST- Tonight will be a discussion/presentation by Blackfork on the Battle of the Alamo. Having followed Robert's blogging of the daily events, I'm looking forward to it!